Kingdom Come, Chapter 6
KINGDOM COME, CHAPTER 6 I spent awhile banging on those bars until I finally felt like my hand would explode from banging on iron, and my voice grew weak from yelling. I finally threw myself on the ground and sobbed. What a wimp I am. Crying. I’m a warrior. A mind of steel, soul of platinum (author’s note: I just completely stole that line from Kung Fu Panda 2). Like the furious five. They don’t cry. They fight. Warriors fight. When everything feels crumbled around them, they don’t throw themselves on the floor and start bawling like a baby. They pick themselves up and try and fix things. And I was doing the opposite of that. It seemed like after forever that I got up on my knees and looked through the iron bars, fixing my (now cracked) glasses on my nose. I looked around the circular room, around the lava tube and into some of the cells that I could get a good view of. Nothing. No sign of Po. Some part of me was convinced that Lindsey had killed him, another part of me was clinging to the possibility that he was alive. I had to make sure he was still living. I needed a way to prove that Lindsey hadn’t harmed him yet. But how? I thought of our conversation at the peach tree. “You’re pretty good.” “Really? I’ve never really sang before.” “Well, you’re incredible for a beginner. Want me to teach you the rest of the song?” We had sung ‘Kingdom Come’ together. ‘Kingdom Come’… All of a sudden, I gained an idea. If Po really was alive, he would know what I was trying to do. I cleared my voice and opened my mouth to start singing in my most beautiful voice, as loud as I could possibly sing, to make sure he heard me. Kelsi: Run, run, run away. Buy yourself another day A cold wind’s whispering Secrets in your ear So low, only you can hear Ooh-ooh Nothing yet. Maybe he hadn’t heard me, or he was trying to figure out what I was doing. So I went onto the next verse. Kelsi: Run, run, run and hide… This time, I heard a familiar voice sing the next line in unison with me. Both: Somewhere no one else can find. I broke into a wide grin, knowing that that voice belonged to Po. Joy came over me. He was alive, Po hadn’t been hurt by Lindsey. I had no more time to think before we both continued to sing. Both: Tall trees bend and lean Pointing where to go Where you will still be all alone Ooh-ooh. I heard Po’s voice go missing for a minute, not singing the next line. My heart skipped a beat. That’s when I remembered that this verse was only for the female part. So I began to sing: Kelsi: Don’t you fret my dear It’ll all be over soon I’ll be waiting he-ere For you My confidence grew even more when we began to sing the next verse. I heard the sound of the other voice coming from below me, so I knew that Po was on one of the lower floors. Good. Now I knew where to find him. Both: Run fast as you can No one has to understand Fly high across the sky from here to kingdom come Fall back down To where you’re from Ooh-ooh I began to think about this song, realizing that it represented the situation we were in right then. We were trapped. But don’t you fret my dear, it would all be over soon. We would soon defeat Lindsey and run back home, to the valley of peace. The valley of peace was our kingdom come. That’s when I realized that the both of us had to team up and defeat her in case the other warriors can’t rescue us. We need to run back to kingdom come, the valley of peace. Both: Don’t you fret my dear It’ll all be over soon I’ll be waiting he-e-ere... I readied my voice for the upcoming big part and then sang the most beautiful note I had ever sung in my entire life. Both: For you-oooo-ooh For you-ooo-ooh For you-ooo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh We paused for a minute, reflecting on what we had just sung. I took a deep breath, barely able to contain the relief that had came over me. Po was alive, I shouldn’t fret, it’ll all be over soon, we could still defeat Lindsey, we could still go back to our kingdom come. Kelsi: Don’t you fret my dear Po: Don’t you fret my dear Kelsi: It’ll all be over soon Po: It’ll all be over soon Kelsi: I’ll be waiting Both: He-ere Don’t you fret my-y dear Oh, it’ll all be over soon Oo-oo-oh, I’ll be waiting he-e-ere. For you For you For you Po: Run, run, run away Both: Run, run, run away… I leaned against the iron bars, knowing that the song was over. I wanted to keep singing with Po, for that was one of the best moments of my life. Singing with Po. One may think of it as a bonding experience. I think of it as saying, ‘Okay, you’re fine, you’re alive, she hasn’t hurt you, now how do we get out of here?’. I was surprised that the guards hadn’t come to check on us after we sung that… Out of nowhere, Lindsey ran in front of my cell and grabbed the iron bars, her eyes full of anger. I backed up against the wall, a bit of fear coming into my body. …song. “You were the second source of the song!” she exclaimed. “Why were you singing!?” “To make sure Po was alive!” I exclaimed, immediately reacting. Usually I wouldn’t respond, but when someone yells at me, I have to respond. It’s pretty much instinct for me. Lindsey stared at me for a moment. She let go of the iron bars and turned to the side. “I have to compliment you on your incredible voice, Dragon Sister Kelsi,” Lindsey said without looking at me. “However, I did not want you to find out that your precious panda was alive." Yeah, no duh. "I just checked in on him right after the singing. He told me that he knew it was you because you two sang that same song together a few nights ago. You are clever, Dragon Sister Kelsi.” “I would have found out sooner or later,” I said to her, stepping forwards. “By the way, I figured out why you didn’t want me to find out that Po was alive.” When Lindsey’s silence followed my words, I went on. “Because you wanted me to be depressed because of that and lose the strength to fight you.” She turned to look at me and I went on. “I know why you’re evil, Lindsey. Master Shifu told us everything.” I then decided to try a different approach- intimidating her. “Are you proud of it, Lindsey!?” I exclaimed. “Are you proud of being evil!? Are you proud of breaking people’s hearts!? Do you think Tai Lung is proud of you!?” “Yes!” Lindsey screamed at me, which caused me to jump. “Yes he is!” Lindsey kept on yelling. “And I know that he is! He told me!” Then she calmed down. Tears began to fill her eyes. “I found him, two days after he was defeated by the real Dragon Warrior.” And the story began… Flashback… Lindsey ran through alleys, creeping around towns throughout southern China, looking for her lover. “Tai-chan! Tai-chan!” she yelled the entire time she looked. She cried day and night, desperate to find the one she loved. She had been searching for Tai Lung, who had been given the Wuxi Finger Hold by the Dragon Warrior, a panda named Po. Lindsey had watched the battle from the rooftop of the home of a villager who had evacuated. The rooftop was a good distance away from the battle, yet close enough so Lindsey could see it clearly. She watched, smiling every time Po was knocked down, gasping every time her beloved snow leopard was hit. Deep inside, she knew that Tai Lung would win the battle. But he didn’t. As soon as Po had caught Tai in the Wuxi Finger Hold, Lindsey nearly screamed and stood up, about to jump off the roof and go down to the battlefield to protect Tai Lung. When Po flexed his pinky, Lindsey knew it was all over. Tai Lung went flying away, yelling. In a millisecond, he was out of sight. “Tai-chan!” Lindsey screamed. She ran in his direction, desperate to find her lover. Now, Lindsey thought that he was near. But she had had this feeling before, and tried to convince herself that he wasn’t near. Suddenly, Lindsey heard a grunt. It sounded… familiar. Her dark heart skipped a beat and she ran in the direction of the grunt. Soon, Lindsey came to a long, thin stream, big enough for a heavy person to fit inside. She looked around, searching for the source of the noise. Then she found it- a big, gray lump. Not any lump- it was her lover. Lindsey ran to Tai Lung, yelling his name. “Tai-chan, Tai-chan!” she yelled. She kneeled where his head was, and put his head on her lap. His eyes were closed, his face was bleeding, he had scars everywhere. Lindsey put his ear next to his chest to listen to his heartbeat. It did beat, but each beat was further apart from the previous one. “Thump…. thump……….thump……………thump.” “Tai-chan!” Lindsey screamed. At the sound of his voice, Tai Lung’s lips began moving ever so slightly. A flame of hope sparked up in Lindsey as she leaned over and looked at his lips. He was obviously trying to form a word, he just didn’t have the strength to. After a few seconds, Lindsey finally realized what her lover was trying to say- ‘Kill the panda.’ “Yes, Tai-chan, yes, I will!” Lindsey exclaimed in tears. “I will stop at nothing! The panda will die, and I will rule over the valley! I promise! I PROMISE!” Tai Lung’s lips curved into a soft, tiny smile. His lips formed the sentence, ‘I love you’. “I love you too!” Lindsey sobbed. Then, ever so slowly, Tai Lung rolled over off of Lindsey’s lap, his chest stopped moving, and his heart had completely stopped.